Getting Back Behind the Wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3

At home, we have sports cars like the Boxster (MT), 911 Cabriolet, 911 GT3 (MT), and a 911 (964), but since they’re often parked near the station or my husband’s workplace, and given that they’re mostly two-seaters (the 911 technically seats four, but it’s basically just two seats in practice…), I rarely get the chance to drive them.

My husband says, “You should drive them more often,” but with our three-month-old baby, it’s tough to get around much.

Then the other day, my husband stayed home with the kids, so I decided to take the GT3 out for a spin after a long time.

It had been exactly two months since I last drove the GT3. That means I only drive the GT3 about five or six times a year… (which is such a shame, considering it’s right here at home).

Since I don’t drive it often, I always feel a bit nervous when I do. So I asked my husband, “Is there anything I should be aware of when driving the GT3?”

He said, “Not really, just drive it like normal lol. If anything, put it in Sport mode to turn on auto-blip, and set PASM to Sport to stiffen the suspension—that makes it easier to drive.“

With that advice, I thought, “It’s supposed to get pretty cold next week, so maybe today’s my last chance to drive the GT3 this year,” and headed to the Royu Driveway.

Tackling the Mountain Roads in the GT3

The GT3’s ride is definitely firm. I used to think, “You can totally drive this in the city,” but well… you can drive it in the city, but hitting a manhole cover delivers a harsh jolt, and while driving, you hear all sorts of noises—pebbles bouncing, engine sounds, and more.

So I don’t feel like using it as an everyday car, and while I can handle driving it, I imagine the passenger’s ride is quite tough. The GT3 really is a car meant to be driven on enjoyable roads.

As I approached the Royu Driveway, I set it to Sport mode, stiffened the suspension, and kept the accelerator lightly pressed while shifting up. It’s incredible. The acceleration when you press the gas, the quickness of the gear changes—everything responds so fast. It reminded me again just how amazingly agile this car is.

My husband once said, “The GT3 feels like you’re running in tabi shoes. You can really feel the road surface.” That’s exactly right. The contact with the road is so strong, and the road’s condition is transmitted directly, giving a powerful yet nimble feel.

And once again, I realized, “This car just turns so well.” The Boxster and 911 also corner beautifully, but the GT3 is on another level. When you lean into a curve, it doesn’t drift out but keeps wanting to turn more, and even when you don’t intend to, it attacks the inside line hard (laughs).

However, on this day, I just couldn’t get in sync with the GT3. I hadn’t driven a sports car much in recent months, and usually I drive the Cayenne, which is easier, mostly just for 10-minute trips to drop off and pick up the kids from kindergarten, so my driving skills had clearly gotten worse.

“Ah, that brake was too early. I didn’t need to downshift there. Ah, the revs didn’t quite match…”

I found myself concentrating intensely, then suddenly laughed, thinking, “What am I even aiming for? I’m just a regular person—I should just enjoy driving normally lol.”

And then it hit me.

Our Boxster GTS is a car that makes the driver feel joy, but the GT3 is a car that makes the driver serious.

I remembered a Top Gear episode about the 911R (Season 23, Episode 6) where they said, “The driver has no escape; it feels like the high-performance machine is testing you. It’s a car where driver and car become one team.” That perfectly sums up the GT3—it really makes you get serious.

But after a while, I got kind of tired (seriously, what’s up with that lol), so I headed home early and told my husband,

The GT3 is really tough. With the Boxster, I can have more fun driving, but mastering the GT3 is seriously difficult. I’m no longer worried about stalling with the manual, but when I want to drive better, I realize I’m nowhere near there. The GT3 just wouldn’t open up to me at all.

He replied,

What’s that lol? Maybe you got scared of the GT3 again—it’s probably more mental than anything lol. But yeah, the GT3 Touring is a car for advanced drivers. Driving it smoothly and fast takes real skill.
You’d probably find it easier to drive on a circuit. Also, the GT3 Touring is designed to enjoy touring on public roads, so it might actually be harder in some ways than driving a regular GT3 fast on a track. It really is a car for pros. Even I haven’t fully mastered it yet.

I said,

Next time, I want to ride shotgun. I want to watch closely where you brake, how you take the lines, what gears you’re in—stuff like that to learn properly.

He said,

What’s up with you lol? If we get a chance, we should go drive the Shoten Kaido (Mimasaka Yamanami Kaido) in Okayama. It’s amazing and you’ll really get it. But we’d have to find someone to watch the kids—three of them! Still, I’d love to go once.

Since the GT3 is right here at home, I want to at least get better at driving it. I used to watch my husband practice and go to driving schools, thinking, “What are you aiming for? Are you trying to become a racer or something?” but now I wonder what I’m really aiming for myself (laughs).